“An archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church was vicariously liable for the sexual abuse of a non-Catholic boy by a priest with special responsibility for youth work on the basis that there was a sufficient connection between the work he was employed to do and the abuse perpetrated.”

“The Government has pledged to find a way to force ISPs to block access to websites accused of hosting copyright-infringing material despite the dropping of a controversial amendment to that effect in its Digital Economy Bill.”

“Proposals that could enable ‘associate prosecutors’ with no legal qualifications to conduct magistrates’ court trials amount to ‘justice on the cheap’ and herald the ‘de-lawyering’ of the magistrates’ court, solicitors have warned.”

“We tend to assume that our unwritten constitution is fundamentally sound and could weather any crisis. But like the levees in New Orleans and Lehman Brothers in New York, we generally fail to take the risk of low-probability, high-impact events into consideration. As Daniel Finkelstein, the Times writer, has recently argued in a different context, we should not ask if our constitution can withstand day-to-day life – the test is whether it could survive Katrina, or a credit crunch. The lesson of the last few years is that, in Donald Rumsfeld’s words, ‘Stuff happens’ – even unlikely events do occur.”

Two teenagers from Scunthorpe, Louis Wainwright, 18, and Nicholas Smith, 19, died on Monday, apparently after taking mephedrone. Police are investigating whether they were taking other drugs. Their deaths have focused attention on the perils of so called ‘legal highs’, chemical and herbal preparations sold on the high street and over the web which are claimed to have effects similar to illegal drugs of abuse but have not been specifically banned.”

“The role of ministers in sanctioning activities by security and intelligence officers abroad which could be unlawful if carried out in Britain will be highlighted in guidelines published for the first time tomorrow, according to Whitehall officials.”